Tools for Teaching Focuses on the Classroom
All
of our efforts to improve education eventually
come down to the classroom. Policies and mandates
must be translated into better teaching practices,
or they are of no use.
Tools
for Teaching describes the teaching
practices of highly effective teachers –
the “naturals.” In addition, Dr.
Jones has developed research-based methods
of group management that are extremely cost-effective
– that free the teacher to focus on
instruction rather than discipline. Advanced
skills of classroom management can produce
dramatic increases in student learning while
reducing teacher stress. Here are just a few
examples of teaching tools that work.
Wasted
Time Becomes Learning Time
A
typical class period is not on task until
five to seven minutes after the bell rings.
In addition, a typical lesson transition takes
five minutes. Common to both of these situations
is dawdling. Students are expert time wasters.
They have no vested interest in hustle. They
know that as soon as the transition is over
they will go back to work.
Responsibility
Training teaches the entire class to save
time rather than waste it. Responsibility
Training insures that students are on task
when the bell rings, and it gives the teacher
30 second lesson transitions. These two items
alone can add 10 minutes of learning time
to a 50 minute class period.
Passivity
Becomes Activity
A
common sight when observing classrooms is
to see students just sitting while the teacher
works out. Students are typically passive
for over half of the class period.
It
is exhausting for a teacher to do five “matinees”
a day. We call it “bop ‘til you
drop.” Then during Guided Practice the
teachers are met with hands waiving in the
air – the same “helpless handraisers”
every day. There has to be an easier way to
teach a lesson.
Say,
See, Do Teaching is another essential tool
for teachers. It structures the lesson into
a series of “Say, See, Do Cycles”
which cause students to continually learn
by doing. It becomes the students job to actively
engage in learning activities while the teacher
checks for understanding. No more Bop ‘til
You Drop.
Meaning
Business
The
alternative to Meaning Business is “nag,
nag, nag.” Meaning Business deals with
typical classroom disruptions. It is effective,
low key and nonadversarial.
Meaning Business increases learning for those who
need it most – the low achievers who
spend so much class time “goofing off.”
With a little training, teachers can increase
achievement for the bottom half of a class
by as much as 50 percent while eliminating
the majority of classroom disruptions.
Doing
It the Easy Way
The
natural teachers are not working themselves
to death because they know the easy way to
get things done. Not surprisingly, however,
teachers start their careers doing everything
the hard way. They are rookies. What do you
expect?
Unless
someone shows these teachers the easy way
to succeed, they will eventually conclude
that exhaustion is an unavoidable part of
the job. Rather than letting them burn out,
far better to give them the teaching tools
they need. |
